Loquat · Marrakesh, Marrakesh-Safi, Morocco
When to plant loquats in Marrakesh
Main outdoor window
4 Feb - 4 Mar
The window this page is built around.
Timed from last spring frost
28 January
In Marrakesh, on your chosen risk.
Ready to pick
1 Apr - 30 Jun
If you plant at the start of the window.
The average last frost. Half of all years are later than this.
Step by step in Marrakesh
Each window is a range, not a single day. Earlier in the range buys you a longer season; later in it buys you a safer one.
Plant the tree
4 Feb - 4 Mar
After the last frost, once the soil has warmed. This crop is never fully dormant, so it cannot be planted bare-root in winter.
Harvest
1 Apr - 30 Jun
Loquats through the year
Against the frost risk in Marrakesh
Why these dates
The tree takes -8C without much complaint, but it is in flower or in young fruit through the winter, and those are lost around -3C. That mismatch, not the tree's own hardiness, sets its range.
Loquats are planted once and then left in place, so there is no sowing offset to resolve. Nor is there a dormant season to plant into: this crop keeps its leaves and keeps growing through the winter, which is exactly why cold damages it. The window on this page therefore waits until the last frost in Marrakesh has passed and the soil has begun to warm, giving the roots the longest possible run before the cold returns.
Hardiness is not the obstacle here. Marrakesh is zone 10a, comfortably inside the range this crop is rated for, so an established plant should come through an average winter without protection.
Do not expect a crop in the first year. A plant set out now should give its first worthwhile pick around year 3, and will then produce every year after that, which is what makes the planting decision worth getting right the first time.
Also in Marrakesh
Other fruits to time
Growing loquats in Marrakesh
When should I plant loquats in Marrakesh?
Aim for 4 Feb - 4 Mar in an average year. If you would rather not gamble on the weather, wait until 4 Mar - 1 Apr - by then frost has finished in nine years out of ten.
When will loquats be ready to harvest in Marrakesh?
Expect to start picking around 1 Apr - 30 Jun, based on 120 to 150 days to maturity from the planting date calculated for this location.
How much frost will loquats tolerate?
The tree takes -8C without much complaint, but it is in flower or in young fruit through the winter, and those are lost around -3C. That mismatch, not the tree's own hardiness, sets its range.